HITS FROM THE YONG

Chinatown San Francisco marker stroll pickups. Chinatowns + black marker hunting = two of my favorite things.

YONGLI Y850

This is a bootleg of a Pentel model. A really good quality bootleg. Heavyweight black plastic construction, with screened on silver/black design detailing. Bullet point, makes somewhat thin, dark black lines. Smooth marking, rough alcohol smell. Good value pick. Shoulda got a couple more.

BEROL 

A no frills stubby marker. Heavyweight black plastic construction, with screened on label. This marker says it was assembled in Mexico. Chisel tip. Disappointed in the light ink quality of the marker. Minimal smell. A streamlined marker in design, also makes smooth lines.

UNIVERSAL PERMANENT INK MARKER

A no frills marker with a lot of bang for the buck…since it only cost 50 cents. Gloss black plastic construction, with screened white wordmark and label details. Chisel tip. Makes nice heavy black lines, runs smooth, low odor. This is a really good marker. Didn’t think it would be from the looks of it. Maybe I can go back and grab a box.

PROFFICE

Nice stubby no frills marker. Ergonomic plastic groove on the barrel. Simple black wordmark on white plastic body. Makes heavy black lines. Applies smooth. Another unassuming marker that performs better than it’s pricepoint. Will go back and clear the shop out of their stock.

JUNK DON’T STUNK

Got all these markers at a place in SF called Junk. Ferris tipped me off to the place at DIET’S art opening. Junk is pretty awesome. It’s a warehouse of recycled/donated surplus odds and ends. Marker digging at its finest. There were 5 marker bins of all sorts and I just went through all of them. I wish I found more markers that day, but still, a pretty good score. I think I got all these for like $2.

UNIVERSAL MARKER – Utilitarian marking pen for warehouse and packaging. Pretty simple construction. Nice thick nib, produces clean wide lines of nice thick ink.

CRAYOLA IQ – Chisel Tip. Leaves blue undertone that is typical with Crayola black markers. Nice gold finish lettering on black plastic exterior. Pretty classy.

ROSE ART – One says WASHABLE, the other says CLASSIC. The WASHABLE one is shorter, has a black end bit, and the ink has a bluish undertone. They both have the same conical nib which I am usually not a fan of, but these markers produce really nice lines.

EL MARKO – Although I am happy to have found this one in the marker bin, I would still love to own the older El Marko, as made by Flair. That one features the silhouette of the masked man that is known as El Marko on the label. It’s my Holy Grail at the moment and I would really appreciate it if anyone that had one would drop me a line so I can trade/buy it. VIVO EL MARKO !

MAGIC MARKER – Hmm. So this is the modern day version of a Magic Marker. It was dried out when I got it. Design wise it’s kind of plain and boring, which is kind of a shame since the original Magic Markermarkers had really good fonts and layout.

SKILCRAFT – Octagonal base. Don’t know the purpose of this design feature on markers. Maybe it just makes them stand up better. Pretty nice marker for something that looks so plain. Nice soft chisel tip nib makes really nice smooth lines and fades.

ENCORE – Another simple designed marker featuring limited labeling and branding. Nice soft chisel tip, medium weight ink with a brownish undertone. Smells strong of alcohol.

SPARCO – Simple construction and branding. Really solid everyday use marker. Chisel tip, makes clean sharp lines in a nice deep black tone.

UNIVERSAL – This one is pretty reliable. Simple markings. Bullet point nib makes smooth lines in a nice thick black.